The (mainstream) staying power of GM’s B-body is pretty much history. Panther Love shall live for the next decade or so, not much longer. I was in this state of mind when auto writer extraordinaire Alex Nunez posted a picture to my Facebook wall, suggesting that the Chevrolet Caprice’s proportioning is somehow a worthy successor to these Iconic American Sedans. My response? Relative to the Chevy Impala, sure. But proportioning is more than having rear-wheel drive and a lot of real estate. If you proportion it wrong, you create a Fool’s errand. You create the Chevy Caprice.
While we say Panther Love, we really mean Cab Backward design for an Iconic American Sedan. Can you dig it?
Posted in Vellum Venom
Tagged as american, Caprice, Chrysler 300, Design, overhang, panther love, proportion, Sedan, styling analysis
Tagged as american, Caprice, Chrysler 300, Design, overhang, panther love, proportion, Sedan, styling analysis
Recent Comments
Dan R - What’s that thing sticking out of the LH side?
George B - The most important consideration is what your wife likes. Local knowledge is important in your search. I live in a part of the country where road salt...
ponchoman49 - That may have been true 10-15 years ago. The newer generation have proven to be much more reliable and better made.
Autopassion - Wonderful, classic design language, although it might work better on a slightly larger platform than a Lotus 7,...
30-mile fetch - That stock photo of the brown Merc above? That’s beautiful. I wish there were a contemporary car that looked like that. No styling gimmicks, no...
ExPatBrit - I have to agree with Sajeev on the LS400. Since you know Toyotas any maintenance is going to be no problem. If you have the room sell the Miata and get the Benz...
2011TCCE - You couldn’t be more right about Panthers. I seriously can’t beat 20mpg. In fact, went and test drove an Echo as a used commuter car because of the...
30-mile fetch - I would certainly hope your sedan can use less fuel than a high profile box with 37 ft3 of cargo space.
Defender90 - I love the W123 too, had three of them but the floors all rusted out like HELL under that thick underseal. It was the first car where MB used recycled steel...
KixStart - “Happy wife, happy life.” Absolutely. So, as others said, what does SHE want in HER car? If you can afford it, get it for her. If she’s...